Ingo Brigandt

Ingo Brigandt

Professor of Philosophy

Ingo Brigandt
Department of Philosophy
University of Alberta
2-40 Assiniboia Hall
Edmonton, AB T6G 2E7
Canada

Office: 2-47 Assiniboia Hall
Phone: 780-492-3307 (voicemail)

My research in philosophy of biology and related domains attempts to understand scientific practice and concept use from a methodological, epistemological, and semantic point of view. This includes investigating the change and diversity of scientific practices, as well as critically scrutinizing the intersection of science and society based on environmental and social values.

I am particularly interested in evolutionary developmental biology (evo-devo), molecular biology, systems biology, cognitive science, and (most recently) neuropsychiatry.

Use the page navigation to read about my research and teaching. Syllabi for my current courses can be found below. My Curriculum Vitae in pdf format.

Academic Appointments

07/2017 –	Professor of Philosophy, University of Alberta
04/2014 – 03/2024	Canada Research Chair in Philosophy of Biology, University of Alberta
01/2023 – 06/2025	Director of Graduate Programs, Department of Philosophy, University of Alberta
09/2022 – 12/2022	Visiting Fellow, Center for Philosophy of Science, University of Pittsburgh
07/2015 – 06/2022	Associate Chair (Graduate Studies), Department of Philosophy, University of Alberta (on leave 07/2019 – 12/2019)
08/2019 – 12/2019	Visiting Fellow, Centre for Advanced Study at the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters, Oslo
2012 – 2017	Associate Professor of Philosophy (with tenure), University of Alberta
03/2015 – 05/2015	Visiting Scholar, Sydney Centre for the Foundations of Science, University of Sydney
09/2014 – 12/2014	Visiting Fellow, Center for Philosophy of Science, University of Pittsburgh
2008 – 2012	Assistant Professor of Philosophy, University of Alberta (hired in 2006, appointment deferred to take up and complete a postdoctoral fellowship)
2006 – 2008	Izaak Walton Killam Memorial Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Alberta

Education

2000 – 2006	Ph.D. in History and Philosophy of Science, University of Pittsburgh (Co-Supervisors: Paul Griffiths and Anil Gupta. Dissertation: A Theory of Conceptual Advance)
	M.A. in Philosophy, University of Pittsburgh (awarded 2005)
1995 – 1999	M.Sc. equivalent in Mathematics, University of Konstanz (Germany)

Current Courses

PHIL 317 – Philosophy of Biology, Winter 2025 (Tue, Thu 11:00am–12:20pm) [syllabus]

Distinctions and Board Memberships

Executive Editor of the Canadian Journal of Philosophy, 2013–

Associate Editor of the Journal of Experimental Zoology Part B: Molecular and Developmental Evolution, 2012–

Editorial Board Member (Academic Editor) of PLOS ONE, 2018–

Editorial Board Member (Consulting Editor) of Studies in History and Philosophy of Science, 2017–

Editorial Board Member of Annals of the History and Philosophy of Biology, 2014–

Editorial Board Member of Bionomina: International Journal of Biological Nomenclature & Terminology, 2010–2019

Second Vice-President of the Canadian Society for the History and Philosophy of Science, 2022–2025

Advisory Board Member of the Canadian Society for the History and Philosophy of Science, 2021–2022 and 2011–2014

Membership Development Committee Member of the International Society for the History, Philosophy, and Social Studies of Biology, 2013–

Membership Development Committee Co-Chair of the International Society for the History, Philosophy, and Social Studies of Biology, 2017–2023

Council Member (At-Large Director) of the International Society for the History, Philosophy, and Social Studies of Biology, 2017–2021

Martha Cook Piper Research Prize, University of Alberta, 2011 ($3,000)

Faculty of Arts Research Excellence Award, University of Alberta, 2011

Dorothy J. Killam Memorial Postdoctoral Fellow Prize, University of Alberta, 2006 ($2,500)

M.Sc. equivalent in Mathematics (Minor: Philosophy) with distinction (“ausgezeichnet”, outstanding), University of Konstanz, 1999

Grants and Fellowships

Canada Research Chair in Philosophy of Biology, Canada Research Chairs Program (Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada), 2019–2024 ($500,000)

CRC Research Support Grant, Faculty of Arts, University of Alberta, 2019–2024 ($92,500)

Insight Grant, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, 2016–2023 ($132,028, rank 7 out of 59 philosophy applications nationwide, grant #435-2016-0500, “Standards, aims, and values: biological explanation and beyond”)

Canada Research Chair in Philosophy of Biology, Canada Research Chairs Program (Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada), 2014–2019 ($500,000)

CRC Research Support Grant, Faculty of Arts, University of Alberta, 2014–2019 ($42,473)

Killam Research Fund SSHRC 4A Grant, University of Alberta, 2015–2016 ($5,000)

SSHRC 4A Grant, Faculty of Arts, University of Alberta, 2012–2013 ($3,000)

SSHRC 4A Grant, University of Alberta, 2011–2012 ($7,500)

Standard Research Grant, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, 2008–2012 ($66,652 incl. teaching release stipend, rank 3 out of 92 philosophy applications nationwide, grant #410-2008-0400, “Integrating different biological approaches: a philosophical contribution”)

Endowment Fund for the Future Capital Recruitment Grant, University of Alberta, 2009 ($6,200)

Killam Research Fund Conference Travel Grant, University of Alberta, 2007 ($1,700)

Izaak Walton Killam Memorial Postdoctoral Fellowship, University of Alberta, 2006–2008 ($88,000)

Postdoctoral Fellowship, Center for Philosophy of Biology, Duke University, 2006–2007 (declined)

Postdoctoral Fellowship, Center for Philosophy and Ethics of Science, University of Hannover, 2006–2007 (declined)

Andrew Mellon Predoctoral Fellowship, University of Pittsburgh, 2005–2006 ($19,600)

KLI Junior Fellowship, Konrad Lorenz Institute for Evolution and Cognition Research, 2002 ($3,280)

Andrew Mellon Predoctoral Fellowship, University of Pittsburgh, 2000–2001 ($21,300)